The coaches of the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are the top three of the year, according to members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association. Rick Tocchet [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MTc2NTEyMDIwMzI1Nzg3/usatsi_23044998_168400847_lowres.jpg] Rick Tocchet As the NHL continues to announce the finalists for the 2024 league awards, it's time to look at the coaches. The league announced the Winnipeg Jets' Rick Bowness, Nashville Predators' Andrew Brunette and Vancouver Canucks' Rick Tocchet as the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who contributed the most to their team's success. Members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association voted for the award after the regular season. Here's more on each finalist in alphabetical order. RICK BOWNESS, WINNIPEG JETS In Bowness' first season with the Jets last year, they finished with 95 points and sat in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This year, the 69-year-old helped bring his team to its second-most points in franchise history, finishing with a 52-24-6 record for 110 points and the No. 4 spot in the NHL standings. Bowness' defensive mindset also worked wonders for the team in the regular season, finishing with the fewest goals against in the NHL with 198 (199 when including a goal against for a shootout loss). In December and January, Winnipeg even won eight straight games for the first time in franchise history, and the team did it again in April. Bowness missed some time during the season to be with his wife, Judy, after she was hospitalized and in March for him to undergo a minor medical procedure. But his impact on the team makes him a deserving finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the first time in his 14 seasons as an NHL head coach. ANDREW BRUNETTE, NASHVILLE PREDATORS The Predators came into the season looking like a squad that would finish outside of the playoffs for the second year in a row. They bought out Matt Duchene's contract, traded Ryan Johansen and seemed to be in retooling mode. But with Brunette, the Predators returned to the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years, and they looked nowhere near ready to sink in the standings. With a 52-24-6 record for 99 points, the Predators actually had their best season in terms of points percentage since 2018-19. And they drew the attention of the hockey world when they went on an 18-game points streak (16-0-2), the longest in franchise history and of any team this season. Brunette has been a head coach for two seasons and has been a finalist for the Jack Adams award twice, the last time being with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22 as an interim coach. RICK TOCCHET, VANCOUVER CANUCKS When THN.com surveyed its site editors and contributors for the NHL awards, Tocchet received 30 of 47 votes to win the Jack Adams, leading second-place Brunette by 24 votes. The Canucks climbed to sixth overall in the NHL standings this year from 22nd last season. They won the Pacific Division title, and that was the first time they finished higher than fourth in their division since 2014-15. Their dramatic turnaround may have saved them from having to rebuild, let alone retool. Tocchet's Canucks finished tied for fifth in the league in fewest goals against per game at 2.70, and they had the sixth-most goals-for per game at 3.40. The regular season was Tocchet's best year in terms of points percentage in his parts of eight seasons as an NHL head coach. And despite the team finishing well out of the playoffs last year, the Canucks were 20-12-4 under Tocchet. They built on that momentum this season. This is Tocchet's first time being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. He could be the third winner of the award in Canucks history following Pat Quinn in 1991-92 and Alain Vigneault in 2006-07. Here's how Jacob Stoller would rank the three finalists: The coaches of the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are the top three of the year, according to members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association.
